Dive Bomber Group Build (May 1 - Dec 31 2009)

Well first of December here, one month to go and about 90% done on painting.

I have to touch up a few parts where the oaint came off with the masking tape, where it wasnt a 100% perfect job with the eastern front strip and the inside of the engine cowling/engine highlights. After that its just adding the final bits and decals. May or may not weather it as SWMBO has lay'd claim to it(shes wanted a biplane for a while), LOL. Not to worried about the time limit

Well calling this one a wrap, SWMBO says not to bother with the weathering, she doesnt want the nice paint job looking dirty. On the plus side shes donated a large bottle of gloss laquer to me as long as I get some and thinner and seal it for her.

Did have one small problem at the end, one of the decals tore and disintegrated.

So here's the pics

The Apache is now waiting for some weathering.  She's armed and sits on her own landing gear now..

Just a little bit of paint to shoot on the canopy and windscreen, and a bit of weathering.  I'm particularly worried about that part as I don't think that I've weathered an aircraft before.  In fact, this is the first build that I'll complete in probably 18 years or so.  And back then, I was just helping my dad.  I guess we'll see what happens.  

Mike

This weekend I borrowed a twin .30 flex mount from a Hasegawa A-24 (gonna put in a single    .30 instead) and built it up. I then installed several other "borrowed" interior details- radios, top decking between pilot/gunner, DF homing loop on top of top decking. Here is how the cockpit is coming along to this point.

I finished Accurate Miniatures SBD-3 Dauntless a few weeks ago, but hadn't gotten around to taking some photos...until today.  This is a beautifully detailed kit.  The cockpit required alot of care & patience.  I liked the kit so much that I picked up AM's TBM Avenger on eBay.

This kit represents the plane flown on 8 May 1942 by Ensign John Leppla and ARM3c John Liska during the Battle of the Coral Sea. Leppla was credited with four kills over a two-day period, while Liska claimed three. It is perhaps the best known and documented of all Dauntlesses to be flown during The Coral Sea action - 2-S-12 (BuNo 4547) of VS-2, USS Lexington (CV-2) during the Spring of 1942.

I installed a scope/sight taken from an old Monogram TBD kit and also installed the instrument panel I made. I also dipped the canopy pieces in future during the week. Almost ready for main painting.

Merry Christmas to all. Finally finished my SBD-3 last week, that's the good news. The bad news is that I'm having problems loading the pics into Photobucket. I've noticed other members saying that they have had problems also. Hopefully I'll be able to get this resolved in the next few days. The Apache looks great and the Hs-123is no slouch either.

Steven,

A change in kits is in order if I'm to bang this one out before the deadline, the new kit is the Revell Germany Vultee Vengeance Mk. II.  Having trouble deciphering the paint call outs, but it looks like Dk Earth, Dk Green over Sky.  Would this be correct for an aircraft serving in India 1943?  Any help mucho appreciated.

Ok, I'm going to call this one complete at the deadline. 

While trying to finish this one up, everything seemed like it was acting against me.  The weathering didn't go as I had planned.  Apparently a tube of white acrylic got mixed in with my oils and I started doing a pinwash with it.  Then I wondered why the mineral spirits wouldn't work on the white..  That was fun.  Then as I was getting everything all ready and applying the dull coat, I accidentally oversprayed the canopy.  After that I decided I was going to open it up so you could at least see inside.  Anyway, here's the A-36 that was fun to build, and a bit different.  Don't worry, the HS decals have been applied to the prop, I just don't have a photo of it yet...